


Family

by rizuki



Category: Free!
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Holidays, M/M, sparkly vomit inducing fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-05
Updated: 2015-03-02
Packaged: 2018-03-05 13:01:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 15,252
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3121091
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rizuki/pseuds/rizuki
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A three-parter wherein:</p><p>1) Sousuke is an idiot and failed to realize that going to Australia to surprise Rin for the holidays requires a) English, and b) a sense of direction.</p><p>2) Rin and Sousuke decorate for the holidays and exchange presents and Rin is very much into the stereotypical romantic holiday.</p><p>3) Sousuke meets Russell and Lori, and he's sure he's going to die of heart failure before the new year (Rin is pretty sure he's never laughed so hard).</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> italics = english.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 1) Sousuke is an idiot and failed to realize that going to Australia to surprise Rin for the holidays requires a) English, and b) a sense of direction.

Sousuke didn’t think his plan through. At all.

He didn’t realize it until he was at the airport waiting for his luggage. His gaze scanned the baggage as it gradually rotated around the conveyor belt, waiting to see his suitcase. Everything around him was a flurry of holiday music and noise and commotion that Sousuke found easy to tune out until he felt a hand place itself on his left shoulder with the goal of gaining his attention. Sousuke glanced over and was confused at the embarrassed pair of friendly green eyes that met his gaze.

_“Do you know where the men’s room is? I’m afraid I’ve never been here.”_

Oh... Oh. The green-eyed man was speaking to him in English. Of course he was speaking to him in English; they were in Australia, where they spoke English, and wrote English, and Sousuke -

Sousuke was screwed.

 _“I,”_ Sousuke mumbled, mentally berating himself as he tried valiantly to remember whatever words he could from his travel guide. _“I... I don’t... Don’t speak English.”_ He couldn’t remember conjugation, couldn’t remember sentence structures, and damn those classes at Samezuka to hell; how did not a single speck of information retain itself in his mind, especially when he needed it the most?

 _“Oh! Sorry! Merry Christmas!”_ The man nodded in understanding before waving and heading in the opposite direction, leaving Sousuke alone to face facts.

He was in another country that he wasn’t familiar with, completely unable to speak or read the language there. No one knew he was there - aside from Gou, and he had made her swear up and down that she wouldn’t tell a soul about his trip. And, now that he was taking the time to actually think about it, he had no idea how to locate Rin. He had his address thankfully, but other than that he had no idea where Rin’s flat was, nor where his team trained, where the Aquatic Centre was, where his home stay family lived... Nothing. Sousuke knew absolutely nothing.

Who was the one really getting surprised - Rin, or himself? He was beginning to take bets on the latter.

“Shit,” he sighed before moving forward to grab his suitcase once he finally saw it move by him on the conveyor belt. With his suitcase rolling behind him while being dragged by his right hand and his carry on slung over his left shoulder, Sousuke began making his way through the airport with the goal of finding an exit. He supposed he should’ve been hit with the reality of his language barrier when he checked in at customs with his passport. Maybe he was too jet lagged, maybe he was too caught up in his thoughts... Whatever the reason, it was too late for Sousuke to figure it out and plan accordingly. He was there and had to deal with it now.

He began following a large family as they maneuvered through the airport, hoping that they too were heading toward the same exit that he needed. Thankfully they did indeed lead him right to an exit, but it seemed busy and overwhelming for someone as lost as he was. He continued following the family as they headed to what looked like the end of a line, and he could only assume it was the line to wait for a taxi. Sousuke took the pause in movement as an opportunity to check his phone, thankful that Rin’s address was still saved in his texts. The sense of relief he felt was indescribable; he truly felt lost, but having that kept him grounded. It solidified his reason for being there.

Sousuke quickly glanced down away from his phone when he felt when tiny hands join his in holding onto the handle of his suitcase. Next to him was a short, giggly little girl with a long blonde ponytail, one of the family members he had been following around; he figured she recognized him because of that. She was smiling widely at him, and he found comfort in the fact that she didn’t seem to have even an ounce of the stressful tension that he felt. Well, of course not. She wasn’t lost, and she was surrounded by people who knew what they were doing and where they were going.

 _“Hi!”_ she said cheerfully. _“We’re visiting my grandparents for Christmas!”_

Sousuke chuckled nervously. _“Visiting a friend,”_ he replied unable to keep from blushing at how thick his accent was and how very aware he was at his vain attempts at pronunciation. The girl didn’t seem to mind and only giggled at him, which caught the attention of the older man with her that Sousuke was assuming was her father.

_“You waiting for a ride, too?”_

That was a sentence Sousuke couldn’t fully grasp. His grip on his phone tightened in nervousness and he shrugged helplessly. He was starting to regret not having upgraded to something more modern before leaving, because then maybe he would be able to speak easier and with more comfort.

 _“Sorry,”_ he replied sheepishly, hoping that the other man wouldn’t take him as acting standoffish, but rather would see his communication issues. The other man didn’t respond. Instead, he reached into his pocket and Sousuke arched an eyebrow in confusion as the other man pulled out his phone and his finger started rapidly moving along a black touch screen. The little girl let go of Sousuke and his suitcase handle at that point, skipping over to her dad to try and watch him as he worked.

Before Sousuke could question it any further, the man extended his phone to him, taking Sousuke by surprise. He hesitantly reached out, taking the phone from the other man’s hold then glanced down at the screen with jealousy. Something like this would better suit situations like the one he was in, but now was not the time to regret what he didn’t have and find envy in the kindness of a stranger.

The screen was mostly in English, but Sousuke could tell it was some sort of a translation page. He had never felt so relieved. His fingers started tapping along the glass, feeling his relief grow as he switched it to translate from Japanese to English to type in - _I need a taxi. I can’t speak English._

Sousuke handed the phone back to the other man who eyed the screen briefly before turning around and pointing behind them back into the festively lit airport. _“Go back in,”_ he said slowly, _“there’s an exit for taxis.”_

_“Daddy, he can’t understand you!”_

The other man recognized his error and laughed in embarrassment before nodding and began typing quickly on his phone, handing it back to Sousuke who calmed down at seeing the kanji with instructions on the screen - _you need to go back inside. Go straight. Make a right then there will be an exit for taxis._

He could work with that. He could do that. He nodded in gratitude, bowing down at the man and his family with a relieved smile on his face. If it weren’t for them, he would’ve been standing at that exit forever and wonder why no taxi was ever arriving.

 _“Thank you so much,”_ he mumbled out, giving a small wave to the the man and the little girl before he was on his way back inside the airport to, hopefully, follow the man’s directions. If it hadn’t been for her, he would have absolutely continued to wait on the sidewalk for the taxi that would never come.

But now came Sousuke’s next problem - where was he going, exactly?

“Go straight,” Sousuke repeated quietly, glancing around at his surroundings. There was an ATM a couple feet away from him, and in front of him appeared to be a meeting place of some sort from the looks of it. There were groups of people talking and hugging, others sitting and waiting, killing time on their phones. “Then... Make a left, was it?” He nervously scratched at the back of his neck before beginning to take a few steps in that direction, only to be stopped by the sharp jab of someone’s knee into the back of his thigh.

Sousuke stumbled forward, letting go of the handle of his suitcase causing it to roll forward and slam into the floor. The handles of his carry on slid off of his left shoulder but Sousuke managed to catch that one before setting it on the ground beside his suitcase. “What the hell?” he yelled, uncaring if he could be understood or not. He turned around, ready to face whatever was standing behind him -

Anything but Rin, that is.

Rin, and his narrowed red eyes, and his amused as hell smirk, and his hands on his hips, and the fact that it was obvious that the shorter boy was holding back laughter. Sousuke stared at him wide-eyed, unable to form words or thoughts thanks to the sheer confusion that plagued him. He went from nervous, to secure, to angry, to confused in the span of mere minutes and Sousuke shouldn’t have been surprised that Rin could cause such reactions out of him. It was par for the course.

“What are you doing here?” Sousuke asked, unable to raise his voice.

“I think the better question is what are _you_ doing here?” Rin responded with a laugh. “You can’t speak English and your sense of direction is pathetic, to say the least.”

“I was doing just fine, thanks...”

“Yeah? So why did you come from the bus exit then come back inside and were wandering around aimlessly? You looked like a lost child just now.”

“...how long have you been watching me?”

Rin just laughed before taking the few steps forward to bridge the gap between them, arms immediately wrapping around Sousuke’s neck in a tight hug.

Sousuke couldn’t move. He stood still, arms stuck at his sides, trying to comprehend how Rin was there with him, arms around him, warmth against him, when he wasn’t even supposed to know that Sousuke was there yet. How did he -

“Gou told me. Said that if you hadn’t gotten to me by 2, that I should go find you.”

“I’m so glad that the Matsuoka family has such high faith in my ability to survive,” Sousuke mumbled out, but there was no resentment in his voice. He regained the ability to move at last, arms coming up to wrap around Rin’s waist and for the first time since he stepped foot on the plane to Australia, Sousuke didn’t feel lost.

“I can’t believe you’re here,” Rin mumbled against the skin of his neck, and the heat from his breath caused goosebumps to wake across Sousuke’s body. “You knew I couldn’t fly out for the holidays so you came here instead. You came here. You’re here.”

“I wanted to be with you,” Sousuke mumbled, a dopey smile stretching across his face. His surprise didn’t go exactly the way he had planned, but he still managed to make Rin happy and speechless somehow, and that made it all worth it. “And don’t ask how, I know you’re wondering. I got some time off, and I wanted to spend that down time with you. If it’s not okay...”

“Shut up,” Rin interrupted. He began nipping at a patch of skin on Sousuke’s neck causing Sousuke to laugh in response and make a move to ease away from the embrace, but Rin was having none of it.

“Rin, you know we’re in public, right?”

“What part of shut up don’t you understand?”

Sousuke just chuckled, nodding against Rin’s shoulder as he tightened his hold on him again, pulling Rin’s body closer against his own. He lost track of how long they stood there in each other’s embrace, and would’ve been perfectly content with staying there forever, but his body was beginning to feel the fatigue and exhaustion of jet lag now that he wasn’t running around in a nervous rush for his next move.

Rin seemed to sense this, and reluctantly let him go. When Sousuke looked at him, he caught a quick glimpse of the faint blush Rin had spread across his face, and Rin scowled when he noticed Sousuke caught him. The response he got was a shy smile though, which he happily accepted.

“We can take a cab back to my place,” Rin said as he moved to pick up Sousuke’s luggage. “You can rest, and maybe later you can help me decorate. Russell and Lori invited me to spend Christmas with them, and you’re coming, naturally.”

“Okay, wait,” Sousuke stammered, his nerves kicking in again but this time they instantly ran into over-drive. “First, you’re not taking all of that yourself, I can’t let you...” Sousuke trailed off with the glare he received, and he hung his head in defeat. “Okay, fine. But, decorate? Did you really go out and buy holiday decorations when you found out I was coming? Rin, you’re adorable.” His response was another swift jab in the leg from Rin’s knee, but that confirmed his suspicions. “Okay, okay! But, one more thing. What is this about your home stay family? I can’t interrupt that, I can rest at your place, I can do sightseeing, I can - ”

“You will get lost and I’ll have to call the police to help me find you. I don’t feel like spending the holidays looking for your dumb ass,” Rin responded as he began to lead the way toward the taxi ranks. “Secondly, you’re family, you idiot.” Sousuke couldn’t help but notice how Rin’s voice fell to a quiet murmur; it made his dopey smile return immediately. “They want to meet you. I... I want them to meet you.”

“You’ve spoken about me to them?”

“Only since I was twelve,” Rin replied with an exasperated sigh. “No, I am absolutely not elaborating on that.”

“Duly noted,” Sousuke answered, snickering as he continued to walk with Rin to the other side of the airport. Sousuke felt embarrassed when he realized they were talking by the terminal where he exited from once he left customs. It was looking as though he had walked right past where he needed to go in order to get to Rin and went in the complete opposite direction. It turned out to have worked in his favor, but he couldn’t help but feel stupid at not having realized despite the language barriers.

“How long are you staying for?”

Rin’s quiet voice interrupted his thoughts and he shrugged, following the other outside where a shorter line was waiting for the next group of taxis to pull in.

“Two weeks. I mean, if that’s okay. I mean, I didn’t even ask, I just showed up, but I figured I could enjoy Christmas and New Years’ with you, and I could try to get used to English and how better than by diving right into it? And, maybe, I could check a few things out, start coming up with some sort of an idea about what I could do, and - ”

Sousuke was once again cut off by Rin as he found the other’s body suddenly pressing against his own, Rin’s head resting on his good shoulder. There was no missing the wide smile Rin had, and Sousuke felt so ridiculously happy that he could cause him to do that. He hadn’t even been in Australia for long, but that was enough to make his trip a success.

“That’s very, very okay with me. God, Sousuke, why the hell wouldn’t it be okay? I’m so happy you’re here. I felt so bad that I couldn’t come home. I know Gou and my mom were upset about it, and Haru was giving me shit, and Nagisa, Ai, and Momo were practically crying in text messages to me, and even though they were being nice I could tell Makoto and Rei were disappointed, and you... Sousuke, you...”

“You don’t have to say anything, Rin.”

“I wanted to be with you so bad.”

The words were almost inaudible, but Sousuke heard them. It made him tilt his head just enough to press a kiss to Rin’s temple in response as an arm snaked around his waist to keep him close. “You’ve got me.”

Sousuke lost track of time between them standing for the next taxi and the trip to Rin’s flat. He was just so tired, so ridiculously happy to have completed his mission. He made a mental note to thank Gou when he had a chance; she and Rin knew him better than he knew himself and this made it more clear.

Rin didn’t let him go at all for the entire duration of the taxi ride. Once Sousuke’s luggage was in the trunk and Rin gave the address to the driver, he was leaning against Sousuke, head back on his shoulder, arms tangled and fingers intertwined. Sousuke couldn’t move an inch without somehow moving Rin as well. He loved it, wanted to be like that always. He was going to be facing some extreme withdrawals once he had to fly back to Japan, but he had two weeks before he needed to worry about that.

The drive felt like it was over in a heartbeat, but Sousuke couldn’t be sure. The exhaustion he had been trying his damnedest to ignore was really eating at him now and he was in no shape to stop it anymore; he had no reason to. Because of that, Rin had to basically drag not only his luggage, but also Sousuke out of the taxi and up to his flat. Sousuke couldn’t even remember getting inside. His next clearest memory was laying on his back in Rin’s bed with Rin seated on his thighs, hands making quick work of undoing his belt before his hands unbuttoned and unzipped his jeans. Sousuke sleepily allowed him to tug them down his legs and had no complaints when Rin’s next move was to grab at the hem of his shirt to tug it up and off his body.

“You lazy asshole, come on. Work with me,” Rin grumbled, and Sousuke could only laugh before pushing himself up into a seated position. Doing so made him find himself at a much closer position to Rin, and he couldn’t help but interrupt the other’s goal to wrap his arms around him and pull him into a kiss. His shirt was halfway up and over his head when their lips met, and Rin’s arms were stuck in Sousuke’s embrace, hands still weakly holding onto his t-shirt.

“S-Sousuke...” was the mumbled reply he felt against his mouth before Rin finally gave in and let go of his shirt, letting it fall behind them. He couldn’t move his arms from the way Sousuke was holding him, but he didn’t seem to have any more complaints in him as their heads tilted to deepen the kiss, lips moving together as though there hadn’t been months in-between this kiss and their last. Sousuke had no idea how long he had been waiting for that kiss, that heat between them, or that spark that always ignited itself whenever they touched in some way, no matter how innocent. It woke him up, kicking sleep to the curb temporarily as his hands maneuvered themselves under Rin’s shirt fingers itching to rediscover his skin and learn what changes, if any, there were in his body since they were last together.

Rin squirmed in his hold, but Sousuke didn’t feel like budging or giving in. Instead he bit down on Rin’s lower lip and held back a laugh that would’ve broken the kiss thanks to the way Rin’s body jerked in reaction. With the limited mobility they had, Rin’s hands started moving along Sousuke’s chest, not looking to do anything overtly sexual but simply touch him, feel him, truly grasp that this was Sousuke and that he was there in person. This wasn’t a slew of text messages, this wasn’t an email or a voicemail, this wasn’t a Skype call, this was real. It was really Sousuke’s warm skin under his fingertips, his muscles as defined as ever, and his heart racing under his fingertips.

When the two finally eased out of the kiss, they were both smiling shyly, Sousuke’s arms still around Rin, and Rin’s hands still pressed against Sousuke’s chest.

“I really missed you, Rin,” Sousuke spoke up, his voice slightly louder than a whisper.

“Don’t be embarrassing,” Rin mumbled, but his grin only grew wider at the kiss Sousuke left in-between his eyebrows in reply.

“You missed me, too.”

“Of course I missed you. I missed you more than anyone. It was the worst being apart from you when all I wanted to do was be here, like this, with you.”

“Hmm,” Sousuke murmured in response, letting his eyes slip shut as he leaned in again, pressing soft kisses along the side of Rin’s face. His kisses trailed down the side of his face before he dipped his head enough to begin peppering them along his jawline and the side of his neck.

Rin sighed, head tilting back to grant Sousuke better access, unable to deny him when those kisses, those lips, felt so good. “Weren’t you tired?” he whispered faintly.

“Maybe, a little,” Sousuke cut himself off, incapable of stopping his trail of kisses back up Rin’s neck. “You’re addicting.”

“You’re disgusting,” Rin breathed out, sliding one of his hands down to Sousuke’s left nipple to give it a firm pinch. Sousuke’s eyes flew open and his body pulled back immediately, arms loosening their hold so Rin could finally ease his arms up and out of his embrace. “There we go. I know what that plane ride is like, it’s not short. Rest now, okay? We can do more of this later after we decorate.”

“Did you get any mistletoe?”

“Honestly...” Rin just laughed. “You’re having no problems kissing me without it, Yamazaki. But we’ll see, maybe I did. You don’t get to know until you rest, deal?”

“Deal. But after we decorate I have to give you my gift.”

“You mean it wasn’t you?” Rin asked with a blink, eyes wide.

“Did you honestly think I was going to come see you and not bring you something?”

“You’re something else.” Rin reached out, fingers pinching his right nipple this time, causing Sousuke’s body to jerk away once again. “No more stalling! Lay down.”

“Demanding. I like it,” Sousuke’s voice took on a husky tone that had Rin laughing, but he obliged and lowered down to his back, arms opening wide for Rin to fall into them - which he did. “Christmas with your home stay family, huh? That’s really not intimidating at all.” Sousuke’s eyes shut again and his arms regained their spot around Rin’s waist to keep him put.

“Shut up. They’re going to love you. I don’t know if they’re going traditional or going for a barbecue with other family members, but we’ll find out when we get there.” Rin shifted his body with the goal of getting more comfortable against Sousuke, slipping a leg in-between Sousuke’s before relaxing at last.

“Wait. How many - ”

“Stop worrying. They’re going to love you.”

“It’s only the people that took care of you when I couldn’t, basically your second family, close enough to scare me like your mom did when she found out we were dating... Only not, because I think she had an inkling from when we were kids.”

Rin didn’t respond. He closed his eyes and maneuvered himself a final time to slip a bent arm behind his head while the other draped itself across Sousuke’s waist. Sousuke was sure he wasn’t going to get any type of response, but then suddenly there it was in the form of a kick to his shin.

“You’re the biggest idiot I have ever met. Shut up and close your eyes, I want to make this place look really festive before I yell at you for getting me a gift when - ”

“...Rin, come on, how was I not going to get you - ”

“...when you’re all I need?”

Rin’s words shut Sousuke up. Sousuke turned his head to press a final kiss to Rin’s forehead before letting out a loud sigh. He could hear Rin humming softly in victory beside him and it took everything in him not to push Rin off of the bed.

“You’re ridiculous, Matsuoka.”

“You love me. Now sleep, damnit.”

“Yes sir,” Sousuke mumbled, sure as hell that when he finally gave in to his body’s desperate pleas for rest, he fell asleep with a smile on his face.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 2) Rin and Sousuke decorate for the holidays and exchange presents and Rin is very much into the stereotypical romantic holiday.

Sousuke woke up to what sounded like something crashing in another room, followed by the distinct tell-tale sounds of Rin cursing and yelling. He almost let his eyes fall shut once more so he could fall back asleep, but then he recalled that he was in Australia and the need for sleep was pushed aside. 

 

Rolling onto his side, Sousuke glanced at the large neon green numbers that were glaring at him from Rin's nightstand giving him the time - 8:54PM. He had slept for at least five hours, which was decent considering the long flight he had just taken. However, Sousuke didn't want to waste his time sleeping; he wanted to enjoy his time with Rin.

 

That, and he wanted to know what on earth was going on to cause such sounds to be produced.

 

Sousuke forced himself up off of the bed, arms stretching up above his head to try and wake himself up further. The pop of his joints and slight crack of his spine when he tilted his body to the side felt amazing. He'd give himself some time to stretch properly later.

 

He was about to step out of Rin's room and into the hallway, but bumped right into him in the doorway, much to both of their surprise. Rin's eyes were wide and he looked as though he wasn't expecting Sousuke to be awake just yet. Truth be told, neither did Sousuke, be he was certainly glad to wake up to what was standing in front of him.

 

Rin looked pretty disheveled, hair in a messier ponytail than usual, his tanktop hanging off of his body from the way the sleeves were slipping off of his shoulders, a string of Christmas lights tangled in his arms and what looked like sparkles or glitter stuck to his hands and a few pieces on his cheek.

 

Sousuke tried, he really did, but the loud laugh came out of him before he had a chance to stop himself.

 

"Rin, what in the world were you doing?" Sousuke paused in his laugher, folding his arms across his chest like a parent waiting for their child to fess up to something they had done wrong.

 

"You're supposed to still be sleeping." It wasn't just Rin's words, but the way he said them - his pout clear as day in his tone - that had the corner of Sousuke's lips tugging upward into a crooked grin.

 

"You can't avoid my question forever. I can just as well walk out there and see what you've done."

 

Rin's arms immediately outstretched, causing the lights he was holding to fall onto the floor, hands pressing flat against either side of the doorframe to block Sousuke's path, barricading him in his bedroom.

 

"Absolutely not."

 

"There's glitter on your face."

 

"That's not my fault."

 

"Why did you even bother wearing a shirt when it's hanging off of you that badly? That's… That's not even yours, is it?"

 

"What are you doing, shooting all these questions at me? You're supposed to still be sleeping. And maybe it’s not mine, maybe it’s yours."

 

Sousuke laughed again, unable to help himself. His index finger was swiping specks of glitter off of Rin's cheek before the other could protest, and he leaned in to replace his finger with his lips in a quick kiss immediately after.

 

"You started decorating, didn't you? Quit blocking me. I want to see what you did so far."

 

"I didn't really do anything," Rin mumbled, fingers anxiously tapping at the metal doorframe. "I started taking things out of boxes and whatnot. The tree was absurd though, okay? I didn't get anything major, it's small, but I kind of had some issues getting it out of the box which is probably what woke you up, isn't it?" Rin finally started smiling when Sousuke gave a slow nod to confirm his thoughts. "Figured. The glitter, I assume is from the tinsel. I don't like tinsel, it's really tacky and gaudy, and it gets tangled into everything. I had just opened everything up and it was tangled before I even realized."

 

"God, you're hopeless," Sousuke breathed out as he pressed another kiss, this time onto the corner of Rin's lips. "Let's finish up, yeah? You said you wanted it set before Christmas."

 

"It's not like it's even a big deal." Rin's voice went back to quiet mumbles as he reluctantly removed his arms from Sousuke's path. He bent down to grab the lights he had dropped, and once he was back up he turned around to lead the way. "Like, you spend the day with your family or friends or whatever, and you maybe exchange gifts or whatever, and, well, we hadn’t done this since we were kids, so…"

 

"Am I the 'or whatever'?"

 

"You're the asshole, is what you are."

 

Rin led Sousuke to the small living room where, as Rin had stated, was a three-foot Christmas tree strategically placed in the corner of the room as well as a few small boxes of ornaments and lights. There was the offensive tinsel thrown to the other side of the room, and there was indeed strings and glitter from the tinsel spread out all over the floor around the tree. Sousuke couldn't help but notice the two red medium-sized stockings that were draped on the couch next to a small overly-gaudy star that he figured was for the top of the tree.

 

"Hey," Sousuke spoke softly, reaching a hand out to beckon Rin over to him. "Come here."

 

Rin arched an eyebrow then appeased Sousuke's request, tossing the lights over to the couch with the stockings and the star. Rin didn't get a word in edgewise before Sousuke's arms were wrapped around him in a tight hug, his face buried in Rin's neck.

 

"Sou - ?"

 

"This is really, really sweet, Rin," Sousuke whispered. "You couldn't have known I was coming for that long, but you went out and bought all this so we could decorate it together and have it together for my time here. And you're ridiculous, Christmas is whatever you want to make it. Don't lie to me and say you're not aware of the romantic element people throw onto it… this is romantic. This is exactly how I want to spend my holiday. With my friend. With my family. With you."

 

"I'm going to throw up," Rin mumbled, but his words were clearly empty as his arms wrapped around Sousuke's neck to return the hug. He turned his head to press a kiss to Sousuke's ear, hands rubbing small circles along his spine. "But, really… Thank you. I'm really honestly happy that you're here, and that you don't mind all of this. I just thought it'd be nice."

 

"It is. So let's get some ornaments on that tree, yeah?" Sousuke left a small kiss against the side of Rin's neck before he finally pulled away to make his way over to the pile of ornaments and other decorations that sat by the tree. Rin followed his lead, bending down to hold a box open.

 

"These have the hooks attached already. It always annoyed me when you got ornaments and then got home and had no hooks to get them on the tree, so…" Rin trailed off, grabbing an ornament to reach up and hand it to Sousuke.

 

"You're something else," Sousuke chuckled, taking the offered ornament before hooking it onto one of the branches of the tree. "You would get a little shark."

 

"Shut up."

 

"And you would make it the first ornament on the tree."

 

"Shut up!" Rin glared at him, but Sousuke's teasing words didn't stop Rin from handing him another ornament to hang. They continued this process for a while, Rin handing Sousuke ornaments one by one while Sousuke strategically placed them all around the tree, trying to make sure that they were spread out evenly and that there were no gaps in it anywhere.

 

"Hm, maybe we should have hung the lights up first," Sousuke mused as he hung up the last ornament, wincing at his own reflection in the glass gold ball he had hooked onto one of the higher branches. He looked exhausted, dark circles under his eyes and hair curly and sticking out in every direction possible. 

 

"There's no wrong order for this kind of thing," Rin replied, heading over to the couch to grab the string of lights as well as the star. He handed one end of the string to Sousuke before unwrapping it, grabbing the opposite end to start maneuvering it around the tree, being mindful of the ornaments. They repeated that with a second string of lights before Rin finally placed the star on the top of the tree. It was a little heavier than he was expecting, and it caused the top branch to tilt forward toward them. 

 

As expected, Rin reached out to try and fix it, but Sousuke grabbed his arm to stop him, shaking his head.

 

"Nah, leave it like that."

 

"It looks stupid."

 

"It gives it character, don’t you think? Like that melted snowman you had behind your bed.”

 

Rin’s eyes widened and a blush instantly spread across his face at the sudden memory thrusted at him. “Why would you remember something like that?”

 

“Because it was tilted, too. You also had tinsel on that tree, if I recall, so maybe we should use what you have after all?” Sousuke fought valiantly to keep from laughing at the face Rin was making. He was pressing his lips together tightly in a straight line, staring right at Sousuke as his blush deepened. Before Rin could come up with some sort of a retort, Sousuke cut him off. “So, do you have an extension cord so we can light this tree up? It won’t reach the outlet as it is."

 

All Rin could do was stare at Sousuke, head buzzing with thoughts and flashbacks from when they were kids spending practically every day together. That last Christmas they shared had fallen out of mind but now was back in the forefront, replaying in his head like a videoclip clear as day. It felt as though the memory was more recent, not over half a decade old. 

 

Slowly, Rin nodded in reply, tugging his arm from Sousuke's loose grip to head back into his bedroom. while he was gone, Sousuke started picking through one of the remaining boxes of decorations that Rin had out on the floor, grinning to himself at the small wreath and other string of larger multi-colored lights that he wondered where would be the appropriate place for it. 

 

He picked up the string of lights and glanced around the room, trying to figure out where it could go. It was then that he realized that he hadn't even really looked around Rin's place before - it was his first time there. Aside from Rin's room being in the background during Skype calls, he hadn't ever seen the rest of the place - not even in pictures. He had only seen the outside when they got in from the airport because, if Sousuke was being honest, he was practically unconscious as Rin dragged him in.

 

The living room was simple, nothing crazy. It was large room basically cut in half so that the other end made up the kitchen and eating space. There wasn't a lot of furniture in the living room side of it, and what little furniture there was was very clean and basic, much like Rin's half of the dorm at Samezuka. A black faux leather couch, a coffee table in front of it, and a TV propped up onto the wall with a small cubed bookshelf sitting below it. The cubes were neat, filled with picture frames and books and magazines that were organized pristinely by size. Sousuke couldn’t help the smile that tugged at his lips at the sight of the photos, a mixture of shots from Samezuka, Iwatobi, Rin’s home stay family, and at home with Gou and their mother. 

 

It was very minimalistic, but still so very homey - and so very Rin.

 

“This is Russell’s brother’s place." Rin's voice stopped Sousuke from continuing to expect his surroundings, and he turned to face Rin who was staring back at him with a knowing smile, the requested extension cord in hand. "He and his wife own the house this apartment is attached to. They're doing me a major favor by letting me stay here."

 

"Oh," Sousuke paused, unsure where to even begin with his line of questions. The mention of Rin's home stay family had him regaining his nerves about meeting them and how they'd take to him, but at the same time he was filled with gratitude that those people were able to be of help to Rin again, in a way that he simply could not.

 

"Yeah. Housing isn't cheap here, you know?" Rin walked over to the tree, bending down to plug the attached strings of lights to one end of the extension cord so that he could plug the other end into the outlet on the wall behind the tree. "I looked into it before we graduated. It was just not a possibility for me unless I lived with a bunch of flatmates, which I really wasn't in the mood to do. I spoke with Russell and Lori about it for a while, and this option came up. Their niece lived here before she went away for college, so it thankfully was available."

 

"They take really good care of you." Sousuke spoke softly, and as Rin stood back up, Sousuke felt a tug at his heart thanks to the gentle smile he saw on Rin's face.

 

"Yeah, they do. I usually spend weekends with them, in my old room. It's nice. We eat together, I help out around the place, and Lori's teaching me to cook -" Rin trailed off at Sousuke's snort of laughter which made him roll his eyes, but his smile stayed put. "Listen, I'm getting pretty good, okay? When I don't royally suck anymore, I'll cook you something. You'll cry at how good it is."

 

"Or I'll cry from food poisoning… But I'm holding you to that, Rin. Next time I'm here."

 

Rin chuckled, and flicked the light switch causing the tree to light up - crooked star and all. He walked backward a few steps until he was side by side with Sousuke again, leaning his elbow on Sousuke's good shoulder while they both stared at the tree in silence. 

 

It wasn't much, it was sloppily decorated, but it was something they did together - their first Christmas together. Granted, it technically wasn't their first holiday together, but it was the first one where it meant a little more than usual. It was a milestone in their relationship and the thought made Rin's heart skip a beat. It was stupid, it was embarrassing, but he couldn't deny to himself the joy he was feeling at such a small occasion. It meant the world to him.

 

Sousuke sneakily slid an arm around Rin's waist, fingers hooking into the waistband of his sweatpants. He felt good. He had closure on what had happened in Japan and all of the events that followed his overtraining at Tokitsu. He was building a new and improved future for himself, and the best part was that he wasn't alone. He and Rin talked, and talked, and talked, for hours and days about the should haves, could haves, what ifs, and after shouting matches and many tears, were both able to come to terms with their lives up to that point to be able to proceed - together. The two of them standing there, in Rin's apartment, staring at a poor man's excuse for a Christmas tree, really cemented in the fact that each and every day was a new beginning for them. There were no more question marks, and that in itself was a fantastic feeling.

 

"I don't want this to be the only one, you know," Rin said suddenly, his voice low.

 

"What?" Sousuke glanced over at him, barely able to hear his voice. The sound of it in the otherwise quiet room had jolted him out of his thoughts and back into the present, but he couldn't tell for sure what Rin had said.

 

"The only Christmas together. Or the only anything together. Here, or back in Japan, or anywhere… I want to celebrate lots of things with you. I want to have lots of special occasions, and lots of firsts, and get a bigger tree with a star that doesn't droop down at me all pathetic like it didn't even try."

 

Sousuke simply tightened his hold on Rin, pulling him around so that Rin was in front of him. "This is the first of many. You don't have to worry about that. It's not one or the other pulling this along, it's the both of us. We're in this together, us and our droopy tree."

 

"Stop saying cute things and kiss me already," Rin mumbled, lowering his gaze to break eye contact with Sousuke. His blush, although Sousuke thought it impossible, had deepened to the point that Rin's whole face was a shade of bright red right up to his ears. He could swear he felt the heat radiating off of him, but his embarrassment only helped in giving what Rin wanted. The two leaned in to close the gap between them, lips meeting in a shy, tender kiss. 

 

Rin's fist playfully bumped Sousuke's chest before his hand lay flat against it. They both gradually eased back from the kiss but stayed close, foreheads touching, lips close enough to touch again if one or the other leaned in just enough.

 

"You started it," Sousuke whispered, "all the cute romantic talk."

 

"Stop it."

 

"You love it though."

 

"I absolutely do not."

 

"It's even cuter when you deny it, but your face is just this amazing shade of red…" Sousuke only stopped when he felt Rin's fist bump his chest again, this time harder than before, and he heard the infamous 'tch' slip out of Rin's mouth causing him to almost snort in amusement. "What do you want to do? You want to finish decorating the rest of this before heading to bed?"

 

"Aren’t you tired? We can save it for tomorrow." Rin took a small step forward, his free arm stretching out to hang over Sousuke's shoulder, keeping him close. "We could eat instead, if you want. There's leftover pizza from last night in the fridge."

 

"You're gonna make me run tomorrow morning to work it off though, aren't you?"

 

"It depends on my mood. You are old and jet lagged, after all."

 

"You arrogant little shit." Sousuke pressed his index finger into Rin's side, jabbing him a few times until Rin's body finally jerked against him in protest. "Let's just rest. We can finish the tinsel and the wreath tomorrow. I was trying to think of where to put those other lights…"

 

"I was thinking maybe we could put those lights around the front banister, so it's not so plain out there. Maybe the wreath on the outside door. The tinsel… Ugh, if we must, I guess it can go on the tree."

 

"Like the last one."

 

"Like the last one," Rin repeated before pressing his lips against Sousuke's once more. He felt like an idiot. A really pathetic, embarrassed beyond belief, 13-year-old idiot. He felt giddy, excited, almost as though he were a child waiting for his presents on Christmas morning again before finding out that it snowed the night before to add to the delight. He wouldn't dare confess those feelings out loud, but Sousuke made shivers run up and down his spine, goosebumps trail along his arms, and made him unable to stand still. Rin just wanted to stay with him, touch him in some light way even if it was simply holding hands or leaning against him, or hooking a leg over one of Sousuke's, anything.

 

Sousuke was in no hurry to stop Rin, and it wasn't like he wanted to. The arm he had around Rin's waist only tightened his hold to pull him in closer so their bodies were flush against each other, making the kiss that much more intimate. Neither one of them tried to deepen the kiss or turn it into a heavy make out session; Sousuke assumed that would absolutely be happening at some point, however. Instead, they alternated between long kisses, short little pecks that went from the corners of each others' mouths back to the center, and even tinier kisses that went to the tips of their noses, their chins, their cheeks, almost as though they were relearning each other. 

 

As tired as Sousuke was, he was very okay with continuing, however Rin finally broke their puppy crush kisses off, gaze focused hard on the ground while his hand trailed away from Sousuke's chest to reach out and grab one of his hands. 

 

"You're tired," was the quiet explanation he got. "Let's go get comfortable."

 

Sousuke wasn’t inclined to argue. Rin led the way back through the small hallway and into his bedroom, not letting go even as he lowered himself down to the bed, tugging Sousuke down to join him. Sousuke was ready to let sleep reclaim him, it was too easy not to. The bed was pretty comfortable, and Rin pressing into his side and scooting in closer was an added bonus. 

 

“Hey, what are your plans for tomorrow?” Sousuke asked, his voice growing softer. 

 

“Huh? Oh, I don’t know, I was going to do my usual thing but this giant doofus came by out of nowhere and maybe changed things around...”

 

“Hmm, good. Because you have somewhere to be at 12.”

 

Sousuke’s eyes were just slipping shut when he felt a shift in the bed causing him to turn his head to the side, eyes opening to glance up at Rin who had sat up next to him.

 

“Rin? Do you need me to move?”

 

“What? No, shut up. Don’t change topics. What is that supposed to mean? Me needing to be somewhere at 12?” Sousuke knew that tone of voice; Rin suspected something, and he was ready to pounce depending on how exactly Sousuke responded. It was going to be comical, that was for sure.

 

“You’ve got a massage at 12. It’s at this spa... _Alysium_? I know I’m saying that wrong. But I maybe got you a gift certificate. Gou maybe told me your schedule, and I maybe figured that a massage might be beneficial to you during some time off.”

 

Rin didn’t exactly pounce him, as Sousuke expected. Rather, he stared at him for a few moments, lips pressed back into the same tight thin line that they had been earlier. Right when Sousuke went to try and explain himself further, Rin grabbed one of the pillows before beginning to hit him with it, over and over until Sousuke had his arms covering his face, laughing loudly in sheer amusement.

 

“You piece of shit. You... You can’t go out and do things like that! How did you even manage that?”

 

“If you’d stop hitting me, I’d let you know!” Sousuke exclaimed, pausing to catch his breath from his laughter once the beating with Rin’s pillow finally came to a halt. “Thank you. They have gift vouchers online. I was able to fill in your information and order one, it was pretty easy. The hard part was reading the site, but I copied and pasted most of it into translation sites so it could read it for me.”

 

“I’m going to leave you in the middle of nowhere tomorrow and not tell you. Then I’m going to count how many days it takes for you to come back.” Despite his words, Sousuke could tell that Rin wasn’t angry, more like shocked that Sousuke had gone through so much trouble for him.It wasn’t that big a deal, and it wasn’t as though he had gone out of his way to make it happen. The reaction was reward enough, but tomorrow would be even better. He of all people knew what happened to overworked and overstressed muscles; if he could help in making sure Rin took extra care to avoid that same fate, how could he not?

 

“You’re welcome,” Sousuke said cheerily, repositioning himself in the bed before letting his eyes slip closed once more. He grinned to himself when he felt the bed move again, Rin placing his pillow back in its place, reclaiming the spot beside him, an arm once again draping itself across his waist.

 

“As much as I want to keep hitting you, that honestly sounds pretty damn amazing. Training has been intense, but I’m into it. That massage just sounds heavenly.” Rin curled his body into Sousuke’s, the arm against him moving so his fingertips could slip under his shirt to idly rub at his side, drawing small circles and straight lines along the warm skin. “I’m still leaving you in the middle of nowhere.”

 

“Uh huh. Good night, Rin.”

 

“If you get back to me in one piece, maybe you’ll get your new phone as a reward.”

 

And just like that, Sousuke’s eyes snapped back open. “Wait. What?”

 

“I said, if you get back to me in one piece, maybe you’ll get your new phone as a reward.”

 

“I heard what you said, you cheat. I meant, what do you mean by that?”

 

“I guess we’ll find out whenever it is you find your way, huh?”

 

“You got me a phone? You’re incorrigible,” Sousuke replied, exasperated.

 

“It was such a cool phone, too. There are no buttons on it. Maybe it’d even be good for idiots that don’t know where they’re going.”

 

“Incorrigible, I said.”

 

“Good night, Sousuke.”

 

Sousuke just glared at Rin, head shaking against the pillow at the boy beside him with his eyes closed, a knowing smile on his face that he wanted to kiss away or something. 

 

Or maybe smother with a pillow.

 

The worst part of it all...was that Sousuke wouldn’t have them be any other way. This was a part of his future and he was hooked completely with no shot at ever getting out.

 

And that was exactly how he knew they both felt, and exactly how they wanted it.

 

“Yeah. Good night, Rin.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> my usual disclaimer that i'm too dumb to proofread at 4am is here… i'll edit tomorrow as always ;n;
> 
> [this](http://i.imgur.com/3vIMgkG.jpg) is what inspired me for their tree. they're special boys.
> 
> and [this](http://alysium.com.au/about-us/menu/) is the spa sousuke was referring to. because i could really go for a massage, too.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 3) Sousuke meets Russell and Lori, and he's sure he's going to die of heart failure before the new year (Rin is pretty sure he's never laughed so hard).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> italics = english~

On Christmas Eve, Rin woke up to short little kisses presses along his cheek and temple, and it brought the biggest smile to his face. He loved being in Australia with Sousuke; it was like they had their own new life doing whatever they wanted, however they wanted…most importantly, together. It felt amazing. They stayed in bed longer than they initially intended, neither one of them wanting to pull themselves away from cozy sheets cooled by the air conditioner, soft skin, and lazy kisses. They were on a schedule, however, and didn't want to be late despite not wanting to move.

 

Later that afternoon, they were going to Russell and Lori's house to spend the holiday with them. Rin was ridiculously excited; he had wanted to introduce Sousuke to them for years and was thrilled to finally have the opportunity. He had a lot more to talk about with them and share with them, including Sousuke and their relationship. He had nothing but optimism that it was going to go well and that they'd treat him as kindly as they did Haruka. In spite of that, it didn't seem that Sousuke was feeling as positive as Rin was.

 

It was hard for Rin to not notice how quiet Sousuke had become since he had arrived in Australia. The closer they got to heading to his home stay family's house for Christmas, the more shut-in and silent Sousuke became. Rin knew that he was nervous, but he didn't expect Sousuke to be that nervous. At first, he was responding to all of the teasing remarks Rin was shooting his way, throwing back all sorts of witty remarks and comebacks, but the replies had stopped hours ago and it was beginning to make Rin worry.

 

He had to get to the bottom of Sousuke's sudden freak out before they got there.

 

With that in mind, Rin pushed himself up and off of the couch then made his way toward the bathroom, tapping on the closed door gently. His place wasn't all that big, it wasn't as though Sousuke had many places to hide. "Hey, Sousuke? You good in there?"

 

"'m fine."

 

"Tch." Rin sighed, knocking a bit harder on the door. "I stopped believing you hours ago, you know. Come on, open up. What's wrong?"

 

"I said nothing was wrong."

 

"You don't sound all that convincing through a closed door. Maybe if you opened it, I might be more privy to listening and agreeing."

 

"You're a horrible liar and that was a lame attempt to get me to open the door, Rin."

 

"Oh for fuck's sake," Rin groaned, irritated. He slammed his fist on the door, knocking over and over and over with the hopes that the sound would become aggravating enough for Sousuke to be forced to open the door and let him in. It probably wouldn't make him speak up, but Rin was prepared to fight one battle at a time. "Quit antagonizing me and open the door!"

 

The hard knocks and silence kept going until suddenly the doorknob turned and the door was quickly pulled open, almost causing Rin to lose his footing and stumble inside if he hadn't caught himself at the last moment. He regained his balance with a huff, but the anger dissipated from his face when he caught sight of Sousuke. He looked positively miserable, mind clearly taken up by a million and one thoughts that Rin could only imagine. He wasn't sure what to make of it; Sousuke had been all smiles and lazy warmth the entire time thus far, was he really that afraid?

 

"You don't… You don't have to go if you don't want to," Rin suddenly mumbled, unsure what else to say.

 

"No, no, don't say that," Sousuke responded with a sigh, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "You're lying through your teeth if you say you don't want to go. They're your family. Until I showed up, you had already planned to go see them, right?"

 

"Well, yeah. Of course."

 

"Then we're going."

 

"But don't simply agree and think I'm going to forget that look that was in your eyes just now." Rin stepped forward to get close to Sousuke, letting his hands come to rest on Sousuke's hips. "Talk to me. We promised we'd talk to each other better, remember? No more secrets, no more hiding things from one another."

 

"I know. I remember."

 

"Well, then? What makes this any different?"

 

Sousuke brought a hand to cup Rin's cheek, his fingers gingerly brushing against his skin for a few brief moments before going still. "I'm scared to death."

 

"No shit," Rin responded playfully while one of his hands sneaked up underneath the hem of Sousuke's shirt to pinch his side. "But why? That's what I don't get."

 

Sousuke's body jerked at the pinch, and in turn he pinched Rin's cheek much to his chagrin.  "Come with me. I'll talk," he said as he removed his hand from Rin's cheek to instead reach out and grab his hand.

 

Rin nodded, following Sousuke the short distance back into the living room where the two sat down on the couch directly beside each other. Rin decided to make himself more comfortable, shifting so he was reclining across the couch, head cushioned by the armrest behind him, and draped his legs across Sousuke's thighs. He folded his arms behind his head, grinning at Sousuke to try and relax him as best as he could considering he was so oblivious to what was really going on. "Okay. I'm comfortable. You can start."

 

"You're impossible," Sousuke mumbled with a chuckle, shaking his head. One of his hands came to rest on Rin's thigh, rubbing it absentmindedly while shrugging his shoulders once the attention was brought back to the real matter at hand. "We're… We're different, Rin."

 

Rin opened his mouth to make some sort of sassy reply, but stopped himself. It didn't seem like teasing was really what Sousuke needed at that moment.

 

"You and I, and what we have. I know back home it's really not talked about, and it's some sort of an unspoken rule to not discuss it, at least not openly. That we're in a relationship."

 

"Where are you going with this?"

 

"I know your mom and Gou took it well, and part of me wasn't surprised about Gou. But your mom… I was scared out of my mind. We grew up together, and I was the best friend of her only son, yet that Christmas when you were sick, she pulled me aside to set up the tray with lunch for you and told me some things, and I wanted to die. How did she know? I mean, I barely knew it then."

 

"Wait, wait, wait. Stop. Pause. My mom…? Details. Now."

 

Sousuke let out a long sigh, almost as though he were preparing himself for what he had to say to Rin. "She called me into the kitchen. She had a tray with miso soup, orange juice, and some other stuff, I can't remember. She asked me to bring it up to you. As she was setting it up… she said something like, 'you know, he's never as happy as he is when he's with you.' And I didn't think anything of it because, why would I? We were just friends. But then she handed me the tray and said 'I can tell that you love him. Just know that he loves you too.'"

 

Rin sat up, jaw slack, eyes wide. He picked up one of the pillows off of the couch and smacked Sousuke with it a few times, wishing he could control the blush on his face. "Are you serious? Why didn't you ever think to tell me that before?!"

 

Sousuke just laughed, covering his face with his arms to avoid any direct hits. "I assumed you knew! Or at least figured it out when she called me her son-in-law before you left for Australia the second time."

 

"You make me sick," Rin muttered before throwing the pillow in Sousuke's direction. He plopped back down against the arm rest, his arms folded across his chest. "Well? That doesn't explain why you're freaking out now."

 

"No, it doesn't." Sousuke paused, taking the pillow to place it behind his head, tilting it back to get more comfortable. "Your mom and Gou, like I said, were the exceptions. They knew and openly accepted us without any second thoughts or hesitation. It was unheard of to me, because I never knew that could be a thing. I never knew that you could just support that and press on like it was anything out of the ordinary…"

 

Sousuke trailed off, and Rin froze when he realized what he seemed to be hinting at. He sat back up and scooted closer to Sousuke so that he was next to him again, his thighs laying across Sousuke's lap. "Wait, Sousuke. Do you mean…"

 

"It's probably what you're thinking," Sousuke confirmed, returning his hand back down to rest on Rin's thigh. Rin's hand immediately went on top of it. "I don’t think I’m going to be able to ever introduce you to my family as more than just my best friend, Rin. If we were to ever get married - ” Rin cleared his throat loudly, “ - okay, when we get married, my family probably won’t be there. My parents were very open about their distaste for homosexual relationships. They had a very thin, fine line about how they wanted things to go, how they wanted things to be, about anything and everything. When it came to their careers, their money, politics, home life, and my life. They're not bad people, don't get me wrong. I do love them, very much. But, they're a little more business-oriented and a lot less family-oriented."

 

"Oh," Rin responded dumbly. He had figured as much; he was never over Sousuke's house as often as he was at Rin's. The few times he did meet Sousuke's family, they did seem like very nice people. He remembered being offered ice cream and other treats, but he also remembered never fully feeling like he belonged there. Rin got the sense that Sousuke let loose at his house more often than he did at his own, but he never felt like he knew enough to judge.

 

Sousuke's concerns over meeting total strangers seemed a bit more understandable, suddenly.

 

"I don't know how it is here in Australia, maybe I should've asked you first before freaking out on you." Sousuke paused, chuckling to himself. "But if it's anything like it is back home, I'd rather they not know. Please don't get me wrong, I want to tell everyone how in love I am with you, I'm not ashamed of it in the slightest. But I don't…"

 

"…you don't want to feel their judgement or resentment, yeah?" Rin supplied, inhaling deeply when he saw Sousuke nod in reply. He removed his hand from on top of Sousuke's, that arm wrapping around his neck so Rin could use it to pull himself closer, lips ghosting over the skin of his ear. "I can understand that, and I'm sorry if I've maybe been pushing you too hard to go. I really do want you to meet them, Sousuke. They mean a lot to me. They're going to love you, I need you to quit freaking out. It's different here than it is in Japan. I mean, no, gay marriage isn't legal, but a few places do let same sex couples have civil unions, and let them adopt children. You don't have to keep it a secret. Of course, there are people that don't agree but that's everywhere… Sou, please don't let their feelings and behaviors affect you and your view.”

 

Sousuke didn’t anticipate Rin’s words. He felt like a fool, worrying himself and Rin so much when they should’ve been enjoying each other’s time together to the fullest. Sousuke could’ve just asked, he could have avoided assuming...

 

He blinked in surprised when Rin adjusted himself into his lap, the palms of his hands pressing gently against his cheeks and tilting his head so Sousuke had no choice but to meet Rin’s gaze.

 

“I love you. I wouldn’t lie to you. I’m sorry that your parents aren’t more understanding... but trust me, okay?”

 

Rin was thrilled to see the smile spread across Sousuke’s face again. He didn’t want Sousuke to worry about something so trivial when all those concerns were for nothing, at least not now. Rin couldn’t help but mirror Sousuke’s smile, especially not when he placed his hands over Rin’s and leaned in so their lips were brushing against one another’s.

 

“I trust you. I’m sorry for freaking out.”

 

“You should be,” Rin teased quietly before leaning in the bit more necessary to make their lips meet.

 

*

 

“I can’t do this.”

 

“For crying out loud... Sousuke, we had this discussion already.”

 

“I can’t speak English.”

 

“Thanks for stating the obvious…”

 

"How am I supposed to speak with them?"

 

"Using your words?"

 

"Did we not just reestablish the fact that I cannot speak English?"

 

" _Are you getting mad, Sousuke?_ "

 

"You are not teasing me in a language I can't understand right now, Rin."

 

" _It sounds like Sousuke's getting mad…_ "

 

"I am going to leave."

 

"And you'll be on the evening news as the idiotic foreigner that got placed on the missing person's list because he's a dumbass with no sense of direction. That's how you want to introduce yourself to my home stay family?"

 

"You little shit - "

 

The sound of a dog barking interrupted Rin and Sousuke's bickering. Rin glanced down, smiling widely as he bent down to greet the pudgy black dog that came running at high speed in his direction. Sousuke wondered how quickly he could sprint off of the property now that Rin was distracted, but his opportunity was gone in an instant.

 

“ _So, this must be Sousuke._ ”

 

No, Sousuke didn’t know English, but he went on high alert when he heard his name. How did they even know his name and who he was? How did they even know how to pronounce it? True, she was a little off, but still nailed it pretty well.

 

Rin laughed as if nothing was out of the ordinary, and Sousuke glared at him for it. Rin was having way too much fun at his expense.

 

" _Yeah! Russell, Lori, this is Sousuke Yamazaki. He's the one I've been telling you about._ "

 

The sound of his full name made Sousuke stand up a bit straighter. He was still nervous as hell, but if Rin was just openly going on as if nothing was different about them, then Sousuke had no reason not to trust him...right? Even if his heart was beating so fast he assumed that it had either stopped, or was seconds from exploding; he wasn't sure which. These people were as much Rin’s family as his mother and Gou; Sousuke was adamant about gaining their approval and trust. He wanted to be deemed worthy of dating Rin in their eyes, despite the limitations in his communication with them.

 

Russell extended a hand to Sousuke, a kind smile on his face. He didn't seem disgusted or apprehensive in the slightest and it kind of threw Sousuke for a loop. What exactly had he been expecting, though? " _G'day, Sousuke. I hope I'm pronouncing that right. I'm Russell._ "

 

Lori waved slightly, Russell's smile mirrored on her face. She looked sweet, kind hearted. Really, they both did, and it made Sousuke even more confused. " _Hello! I'm Lori. Rin's been talking you up for a few years now._ "

 

Sousuke took a moment to try and process their words. He understood bits and pieces of what they said to him, but not the full sentences. It was as though all of his knowledge, what little he had to begin with, vanished into thin air. He could grasp enough to know that they were greeting him and introducing themselves, though. " _Hello,_ " he replied nervously as he took Russell's hand to shake it, feeling comforted by the squeeze he felt in greeting. " _It is nice to meet you._ "

 

" _He's going to be freaking out and nervous this whole time, just so you know._ "

 

The two laughed while making their way to Rin as he stood up, Winnie in his arms, hugging in a casual greeting while Sousuke glared over at Rin. Sousuke knew that he had said something about him even though he couldn't understand it. Rin was just carrying on, petting the pudgy dog ( _‘Her name is Winnie,’_ Sousuke mentally reminded himself) and rubbing her head once their hugs had been exchanged. _'At least somebody's at ease,'_ he mused.

 

" _Please, come in! We've been working on dinner, it'll be ready in a little while,_ " Lori spoke up, her smile still present. " _You two boys can rest up in the living room if you'd like, Winnie will love the extra company._ "

 

“ _Lori, do you need any help with the food?_ ” Rin asked before pressing a kiss to the top of Winnie’s head.

 

“ _No, no. Get in here and relax!_ ”

 

Russell and Lori made their way back inside the house, Rin and Winnie following behind them. Sousuke took a deep breath before going in after them, feeling as though it was just the beginning of his night of panic.

 

*

 

Sousuke had done his research - well, as much as he could with the time he had to work with. Before he left for Australia, he had gone over his notes from English class at Samezuka that he went over again on the plane. Granted, maybe he should have paid better mind to read up on English for traveling purposes, because his journey at the airport wouldn’t have been as much of a disaster as it was had he done so. He was sneaking in simple sentences and phrases into the translator on his new phone which made Rin smile brightly with pride every time he caught Sousuke trying to repeat one of the sentences aloud with the goal of impressing him.

 

But now that he was in a situation where he couldn’t just turn a page or run to his phone, he felt like he forgot all of what little he had retained. Rin had stated that the best way to learn and grasp the language was to be immersed in it, but Sousuke felt like he was drowning in the heavy waves.

 

How ironic.

 

It wasn't as bad as Sousuke expected - yet, at least. The couch and all its pillows were comfortable, and the living room as a whole was very homey. There were pictures everywhere, and a Christmas tree that was much bigger than the one he and Rin had was standing in front of the window, adorned with multiple ornaments and lights. There were Christmas decorations just about everywhere, but the room wasn't drowning in them. It was clearly done with a lot of thought and planning in mind, and Sousuke could appreciate that. The candles were relaxing him, and he found himself spending more time examining all of the decorations than thinking about what could happen that night.

 

Winnie's cold wet nose against his forearm threw him off, as did Rin's loud laughter when Sousuke rapidly twisted around to face the dog who kept her eyes on him, her tiny nub of a tail wagging back and forth as quick as it could go. 

 

"You're both against me," Sousuke said with a sigh, unable to keep from grinning at the smirk that formed across Rin's lips. “Don’t trust him, Winnie, he’ll exploit your weakness and then laugh about it in front of your face.”

 

"She's just saying hello!" Rin replied, reaching out to pick Winnie up and place her in his lap. “Are you still so nervous?” He asked softly, scratching behind Winnie’s ears to keep her put so she wouldn’t go off and tackle Sousuke again with the goal of getting his attention.

 

“They’re really nice. It’s clear that they care about you a lot,” Sousuke replied fondly, his gaze going back to resume his exploration of the living room.  “It’s really nice here, and the food smells delicious...” Sousuke trailed off when a particular picture frame caught his eye, causing him to get up and walk across the room to confirm his suspicions. He picked it up and couldn’t help but smile to himself; the picture was of Rin, probably early in to his stay in Australia the first time. He was in-between Lori and Russell and had his goggles around his neck. He looked pretty happy, and Sousuke didn’t miss the pride that were in his home stay parents’ eyes.

 

Sousuke was curious about what other photos they had, puzzle pieces to Rin’s past that he only had certain parts to, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him from proceeding. It wasn’t Rin, Rin was still on the couch with Winnie and a wide smirk that Sousuke wasn’t too thrilled about, because it meant that -

 

“ _You boys can come to the table if you want. Dinner’s just about ready._ ”

 

“ _Thanks, Russell,_ ” Rin replied, setting Winnie back down on the floor before standing up. “Sousuke, don’t forget to breathe now.”

 

“I’d curse at you but it’d be rude,” Sousuke muttered, then sheepishly glanced at Russell, sure that his nerves were evident on his face. “ _Thank you._ ”

 

The heavenly smell of food was even better once they were in the dining room; Sousuke didn’t care what it was, he was ready to eat it and maybe have seconds. Possibly thirds. He was grateful for the air conditioner being on full blast because he couldn’t imagine what the house would be like with the heat from the oven mixed in with the Australian summer sun. Physically, he felt comfortable. Mentally, however, he couldn’t help but still feel nervous despite Rin’s soothing words and optimism. Meeting Russell and Lori was a big deal to Sousuke; he wanted to do right by them. But it wasn’t just that. 

 

He couldn’t help the stab in his heart over the constant reminder floating in the back of his mind that his family just wouldn’t ever be anywhere as loving and affectionate as all of Rin’s family was. They would grow cold, probably would answer Rin with short, clipped sentences and sentence fragments that he would need to fill in on his own. The moment he was gone, that would be when Sousuke would get an ear full of his parents remarks and opinions as if he were twelve-years-old all over again. There would be no family dinners, no embarrassing nights looking at old photos, no nightmare-like scenes of walking into his house to find Rin and his mother cooking and talking together, gossiping about Sousuke and his habits and tendencies. 

 

It was all meaningless in the long run, but Sousuke wanted all of that. He wanted to share every first and every milestone and tiny moment their relationship could have, just like everyone else could. He felt as though he was denying Rin of something he should have - a relationship with his family.

 

As if Rin sensed Sousuke’s thoughts, he sent a sharp kick to Sousuke’s shin under the table causing him to jerk in his spot, which in turn caused Rin to snicker.

 

“Lori’s talking to you, you total nerd,” Rin whispered, and Sousuke glared at him in reply. “Quit being a brooding old man in his thoughts and stay present.”

 

On cue, Lori appeared at the table, her bright smile easing Sousuke’s nerves a tad. ‘ _Breathe, set a good impression,_ ’ Sousuke instructed himself.

 

“ _We’re having ham tonight, I hope that’s okay,_ ” she said, and Sousuke was grateful for the fact that she slowed her pace in speaking down so he had a better chance of understanding her. It did help. “ _If you could maybe help me out with some things in the kitchen?_ ”

 

Sousuke could feel Rin’s stare on him at Lori’s request. He didn’t get the full sentence, but the words he did get out of it were enough to work with. “ _S-sure!_ ” he replied with a nervous smile, standing up to follow her into the kitchen. He wasn’t very sure just how much of a help he would be, but he’d give it a shot.

 

The kitchen was filled with an even more powerful array of aromas that had Sousuke’s mouth watering; everything smelled delicious. There were a few small bowls on spread across the kitchen table filled with things from mixed fruit, to roast vegetables, potatoes, and what looked like steamed pudding. Sousuke made his way over to the counter to join Lori, seeing her mixing chopped vegetables in a large bowl.

 

“ _Could you start bringing those bowls to the table, sweetie?_ ” she asked, turning to point at the bowls on the table before gesturing back toward the table where Rin and Russell were still seated. 

 

She was talking to him as though there were no language barrier. The pace of her wording and her gestures made it far easier to grasp what he couldn’t outright understand, and it made Sousuke feel so much more relaxed. He wondered if she realized it. He nodded in reply, grabbing the bowls of vegetables and potatoes to bring them out. Rin and Russell were talking and laughing, finishing the glasses of water they had on the table.

 

“Well!” Rin said with a smile as Sousuke set the two bowls down. “She has you working, huh?”

 

“Shut up,” Sousuke replied, but his smile was evident in his tone. 

 

“ _Thanks!_ ” Russell said, “ _I’m glad to see you relaxing, son._ ”

 

“ _He’s very afraid of you guys,_ ” Rin replied to him. “Do you need any help?” he asked Sousuke, turning to face him.

 

“ _I’m trying,_ ” Sousuke replied to Russell before glaring at Rin immediately afterward. “No, you jerk, I’ve got it. I think I’m okay, I mean, I haven’t made that much of an ass out of myself yet.” Sousuke unconsciously reached out to grab Rin’s hand and squeeze it reassuringly, but when he remembered where he was and that Russell was at the table with them, he pulled his hand away quickly as though he were being burned and hurried to return to the kitchen for the remaining bowls.

 

“ _He looks like a keeper,_ ” Russell commented with a chuckle, resting an arm on the table. He had a knowing look on his face as he glanced back to Rin who looked away in embarrassment. 

 

“ _Y-yeah. I guess,_ ” Rin stuttered.

 

Sousuke was blushing deeply when he returned to the kitchen to get the remaining bowls of fruit and pudding. When he went to grab them, Lori’s hand placed itself on top of one of his to stop him. When he looked at her, she was smiling at him with the same knowing look that Russell had been giving Rin.

 

“ _So... How long?_ ”

 

“ _E-excuse me?_ ” Sousuke stuttered. The question had so many potential directions it could take, and the worst part was that he knew he might not be able to understand all of them.

 

“ _How long have you been dating?_ ” 

 

Sousuke would’ve dropped the bowl had Lori not stopped him in picking it up. No, he didn’t have any expectations on what she’d say, but that question certainly threw him for a loop.

 

“ _I can tell you both care about each other very much,_ ” she said slowly, giving Sousuke’s hand a squeeze. “ _I’m glad to see Rin so happy._ ”

 

Sousuke didn’t know how to reply. He knew what she was saying, but it went above and beyond any and every expectation he had of what she and Russell might say to him. “ _I, um._ ” He took a deep breath, and upon his exhale, he grinned at her, feeling more confident than he had all day. “ _Not yet a year._ ” Another pause as he thought back hard to make the words come back to him. “ _Thank you for being here for him_.”

 

Lori placed her free hand over her heart and her smile widened. “ _You are too sweet._ ” Sousuke could tell that his words, thick accent be damned, got to her and were understood. She squeezed his hand once more before letting him go to head toward the oven. “ _Let’s get this food out there._ ”

 

Sousuke was all smiles when he and Lori came back out to the table, setting the platter with the brandied ham down as well as the remaining bowls of side dishes. Rin’s eyes widened and Sousuke almost laughed at him; it felt good. He was finally beginning to feel like he truly did fit right in. He sat down next to Rin, fighting hard to keep from grinning like a lovesick idiot when he felt Rin’s hand come to rest on his thigh above his knee under the table. 

 

“ _Thank you so much for helping me back there, Sousuke,_ ” Lori said as she sat down, Russell’s hand immediately moving to place itself on top of hers. “ _And quit being so shy. You two can just be yourselves, no one is judging you here._ ”

 

Despite having a good idea about the meaning behind her words, Sousuke wanted to question Lori, but held back when he noticed the bright red blush that spread across Rin’s face.

 

“ _I... I don’t know what you’re -_ ”

 

“ _Rin,_ ” Russell replied, laughing. “ _It’s pretty obvious, mate._ ”

 

“You did say they not to worry about them,” Sousuke added with a smug smile.

 

“Sh-shut up!” Rin muttered, giving Sousuke’s thigh a firm pinch. “ _I just didn’t want to parade anything around or whatever._ ”

 

“ _Don’t be ridiculous,_ ” Lori scolded. “ _We don’t care who you date, as long as you’re happy. Besides, Sousuke says it’s been about a year?_ ”

 

Rin’s face turned impossibly redder. “ _When did you...?!_ ”

 

He was cut off again, but this time by Sousuke’s laughter. “We spoke a little in the kitchen just now.”

 

“Oh, so suddenly you’re no longer having a stroke over talking to my home stay family?” Rin grumbled, glaring at Sousuke.

 

“ _I take back my prior comments on you being a late bloomer, Rin,_ ” Russell added, chuckling in amusement. “ _Don’t yell at him too harshly, now!_ ”

 

“ _What’s a...a late bloomer?_ ” Sousuke questioned, finding it hard to repeat Russell’s words correctly, but Rin got it. His jaw dropped and Russell’s laughter continued, joined in by Lori who reached across the table to pat Rin’s shoulder.

 

“ _Well, when he lived with us before, he was very obsessed with swimming and improving himself. He was rather oblivious to everything that was going on around him..._ ” Lori began, stopping only when Rin covered his face with both hands, looking as though he were hoping the floor would open beneath him and swallow him whole.

 

“ _Now, now. Let’s eat before the poor boy faints in his seat,_ ” Russell replied, much to Sousuke’s dismay. Even if he couldn’t understand all of it, he was beyond ready to hear any and every embarrassing story Lori and Russell had to share about Rin growing up. They still had the rest of the night and the following day, hope wasn’t fully lost. The fact that they were talking so openly and candidly with him was a sensational feeling.

 

Sousuke, Lori, and Russell began to serve themselves the side dishes first while Rin reluctantly removed his hands from his face, standing up to grab the knife and have a better angle at cutting into the ham to help serve everyone. The silence that passed over them while they filled their plates was comfortable, and it help the deep crimson begin to fade away from Rin’s face until he no longer felt like lowering the air conditioner temperature even further to assist his discomfort. 

 

Russell sparked up the conversation again once their plates were filled and they began to eat, and it was the usual small talk partnered with questions about Sousuke and his interests. Rin stayed quiet and would reach back down to Sousuke’s thigh to squeeze it supportingly every time he stumbled through an answer or sounded unsure. Rin could tell that he still didn’t want to disappoint, despite how positive things had gone so far that night. The final time he did squeezed Sousuke’s thigh, he heard Lori clear her throat, and when he glanced at her she tapped her finger on the table before winking at him. Rin opened his mouth to question her, but understood what she was saying a second later and pressed his lips tightly together in a straight line.

 

“Rin?” Sousuke questioned, arching a brow as he watched Rin’s hand move from his thigh to grasp his left hand, tightening his hold before bringing both of their hands up to rest on the tabletop. 

 

“ _Better,_ ” Lori said before Sousuke would even come up with a reaction. “ _Don’t be so shy! Are you still looking to swim competitively?_ ”

 

“ _N-no,_ ” Sousuke replied, moving to place his hand on top of Rin’s, his thumb moving back and forth along the back of it. “ _I’m going to study physical therapy._ ”

 

“ _He’s taking some time to learn English and work,_ ” Rin chimed in. “ _Then we were talking about him maybe coming to school here._ ”

 

“ _Really?_ ” Russell asked, pausing to take a drink from his glass of water. “ _Would you move in together?_ ”

 

“ _That apartment would be much too small for the both of you!_ ” Lori remarked. “ _You’ll need a place with more breathing room, a bigger bedroom!_ ”

 

“ _What?!_ ” Rin cried out. He had been so sure that Sousuke would be the embarrassed one of the night, but he was the one that kept blushing so bad he didn’t think he’d ever stop.

 

“ _Between the two of you in that place, there’ll be no room for your things. You’ve grown up and filled out quite a lot, you’re no longer that tiny little boy, Rin. And him! Look at him!”_ Lori set her fork down on her empty plate before she gestured to Sousuke. “ _Stand up._ ”

 

Sousuke blinked, looking to Rin who shrugged at him. Keeping his hold on Rin’s hand, Sousuke did as requested and pushed his chair back so he could stand up. He glanced at Lori, and the moment he did she moved her finger in a circle a few times which finally made a loud laugh escape Rin’s throat. They let go of each other’s hands so Sousuke could turn in a slow, small circle, partially covering his face as he sat back down, hoping that was enough for Lori because he felt embarrassed as hell for just that quick moment.

 

“ _Good eye, Rin,_ ” Lori stated. “ _You have good taste._ ”

 

Both Russell and Rin looked at Lori who simply laughed, shrugging her shoulders in reply to their stares.

 

“ _Simply stating facts! Boy’s a looker._ ”

 

Sousuke slouched down in his seat, moving his fork to push around what little pieces of food that remained on his plate as a means to distract himself from the conversation.

 

“ _Lori, you’re embarrassing the poor boy. He’s become redder than Rin has all night,_ ” Russell added, chuckling.

 

“ _You’ll come here for university, yes?_ ” Lori ignored Russell’s comment, looking back at Sousuke with a smile.

 

“ _We can help you with your English if you want._ ”

 

Sousuke looked over at Rin and wasn’t surprised to see the hopeful smile across his face. They had discussed it, but never sat down and made anything official. Russell and Lori didn’t seem like they were going to take no for an answer, and Sousuke wondered if Rin got that from them or if they got that from him.

 

 _“I’ll try not to disappoint_ ,” Sousuke replied with a timid shrug.

 

“ _I doubt you could,_ ” Rin replied, and Sousuke could hear the smile in his voice. It made him roll his eyes.

 

“ _Well! Enough of that for now. Let’s get this cleaned up. We can have dessert and drinks in the living room. I want to know more about this boy,”_ Lori stated as she stood up, reaching to take some of the empty plates. Russell, Rin, and Sousuke followed suit, but Lori gently swatted at Sousuke and Rin’s hands to stop them and shoo them away. 

 

Rin just laughed before reaching for Sousuke’s hand to tug him back into the living room. He knew a losing battle with Lori when he saw one, and he figured that Winnie had been secluded long enough; she knew not to go into the room when they were eating.

 

When Sousuke sat back down on the couch, he immediately had Rin pressed close to one side, and a peppy and excited Winnie at his legs, tiny tail wagging rapidly with happiness and excitement.

 

“You’re all going to kill me,” he commented softly as he reached down to help her up into his lap.

 

“Yeah? But the night’s been a success so far, wouldn’t you say?” Rin replied, scratching Winnie’s head with his free hand. “And you were the scared idiot that was ready to vomit before coming over here today.”

 

“I just wanted them to think I was good enough for you,” Sousuke answered with a shrug. “It’s almost like you’re their kid. I didn’t want to disappoint. I wanted them to see that I was okay, and that you’d be okay with me.”

 

“Now I’m the one that’s feeling like he’s ready to vomit...” Rin teased, but leaned in closer to Sousuke’s face regardless. “It makes me happy to see you guys talking and interacting like that. I know this was really out of your element, but didn’t I say being immersed in the language helps?”

 

“You may have...” Sousuke mumbled, keeping his attention on Winnie who had just curled into a ball in his lap. He felt Rin’s fingers curl under his chin, leading him to once again look in his direction. He was met with a shy smile and half lidded eyes that were much closer than they were a moment ago, he could’ve sworn.

 

“Don’t be an idiot,” Rin said softly. “You’ve always been good enough, more than good enough. Not just for me, but in general. Anyone could see that, except for you apparently.” Rin leaned in a bit more so that their lips were millimeters apart. “I love you. Everyone that’s important to me now knows that. Don’t you forget that.” His words grew softer as he spoke until they were barely above a whisper. 

 

Sousuke found himself leaning in unconsciously until their lips met in a soft kiss, keeping mindful not to squish Winnie as they pushed in closer to each other. Sousuke’s hand moved from Winnie to the back of Rin’s head to thread through his hair and pull him in closer as if their bodies simply weren’t close enough. He wanted Rin even closer to him somehow. Rin had been saying that his home stay family would love him and he questioned why he was second guessing him so much. They were nothing like the horrible images he had been painting in his mind; they were so much better. They were so much more than he was expecting. They were everything he wished his own parents would be, and Sousuke suddenly couldn’t envision his future without them in it, too.

 

Winnie unexpectedly jumping out of Sousuke’s lap allowed him to proceed with his desire to get Rin closer, practically pulling the other into his lap until -

 

“ _It’s okay, Winnie. They’re just young, they’re fine._ ”

 

Both Rin and Sousuke’s eyes snapped open and they pushed away from each other in an instant, both scooting back so that there was a large space between them at the sound of Lori’s voice in the room. But she was laughing again, clearly amused at how mortified they were to have been caught.

 

“ _Oh, please. Like I haven’t seen that before._ ” She came in further into the room to set down a pitcher of iced tea filled with sliced lemons. “ _I’m getting dessert. Then I want to know more about you, young man._ ”

 

Rin and Sousuke stared at Lori’s retreating back as she headed back into the kitchen, presumably to help Russell get the food to bring it out.

 

Rin inched in a little closer to Sousuke again, poking his thigh to regain his attention. “Are you going to be okay? They’re going to grill you hard. They’ll know your blood type by the time the night is done.”

 

Sousuke took a deep breath, then turned to face Rin before moving in even closer to be able to cup his cheek.

 

“ _Yeah. I’m going to be fine._ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> merry christmas in march +_+;;; i got hella stuck writing this back in january, so i wrote a couple of other things while i tried to regain my inspiration for this one. i didn't want to write anything new until i finished it, so here it finally is. i'd eventually like to keep writing rin and sousuke's adventures in australia, but i think i horrified sousuke enough for now. maybe.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you to jenny & emily for the prompts for this *u* i did so much research on sydney airport for this and 'delayed,' omg. i wanted it to be as realistic as i could be at 3:30am.
> 
>  
> 
> alsoalso thank you all so much for your comments and kindness on my other fics, it makes me really happy and i appreciate all of it. thank you ♡  
>  


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